Moulay Hassan sat at the king's right hand at the budget meeting: Morocco is handing power to its 23-year-old heir without fanfare

On Saturday King Mohammed VI chaired the Council of Ministers at the Royal Palace in Rabat. The subject was serious: the general guidelines for the 2027 budget. To the king's right sat his only son, Crown Prince Moulay Hassan. In a monarchy where your place at the table is a message, that is not a protocol detail.

The very next day Moulay Hassan was alone on stage. At the Mohammed VI exhibition centre in El Jadida he handed out the prizes of the show-jumping Grand Prix that bears his father's name - the main event of the finale of the 15th Morocco Royal Tour, held as part of the Horse Fair. Two days, two pictures: one at the table where the money is divided, one in front of the crowd.

An heir who does not wait in the corridor

Crown princes in Europe's parliamentary democracies cut ribbons and wave from balconies. Morocco's is a different story. He gave his first public speech at eight, and by eleven he was already receiving international leaders. In 2025, as the king's absences became ever more frequent, he began carrying out some duties on his own. This year his father appointed him coordinator of the offices and services of the General Staff of the Royal Armed Forces, with the senior officer rank of colonel-major. The army, in other words, is listening to his voice before the crown reaches him.

Mohammed VI has reigned since 1999. The palace does not explain why the king appears in public less and less. What it does explain, with photographs and seating arrangements, is who is filling the empty seat.

Three levers that may be coming

Analysts who follow the Moroccan palace see three more steps the king could take to cement his son's position. The first is economic: running Al Mada, the royal family's huge business group, which means direct control over banks, energy and telecoms. The second is legal: full control over the Regency Council, which would give him the right to rule as interim regent if the king falls ill. The third is social: running the big charitable foundations, and with them the welfare budgets and the loyalty that welfare builds.

None of this is a decision yet - these are scenarios. But the direction is clear. The estimate is that the handover will be complete during 2027, after a process lasting three years. Slow by traditional political standards, fast and decisive compared with other monarchies.

Morocco is changing the generation at the top with no election, no debate and no announcement. Just a seating plan. How many times have we seen power handed over like this closer to home too - quietly, from the inside, with the public the last to find out?